blooding the hounds of hell - round six

Round Four will end Monday, September 8th.

the cow lagged further, and the air was rent with a bellow of terror as dante led his group to cut off her escape. wolves leapt and whirled in a dance that would ultimately lead to her demise, and, dragging her wounded body to a halt, the elk began to stamp her massive hooves, darting at different members of the hunting party.

despite their numbers and her compromised state, the cow was still a formidable enemy. her small eyes watched them, and lasher hissed to his children, "get back!" he would not have them injured while the more skilled wolves performed their killing blows.

the beta circled her snorting form; she gave a hoarse squeal and tipped her hard crown to face him. in that moment, she presented her wounded side to the rest of the pack; dante was given precedence here, and the man leapt forward in an attempt to grasp her jugular. alone he could not hope to breach the thick flesh, but alone he was not.

however in his focused state the earthen man did not feel the hitch in his right shoulder until a spasm of pain slowed his charge. desperate and enraged, the elk lunged at him, kicking, and lasher was struck a glancing blow along his flank.

he was thrown some feet away following a nauseating snap of bone in his side; the man cried out once and was still, tossed like so much flotsam against a sagebrush.